Embodiments relate to water filtration and, more particularly, to stormwater filtration.
Drain water collected from paved surfaces and other areas typically includes various additional components mixed in with the water, such as, but not limited to, trash, organic matter, human and animal waste, fertilizer, suspended solids, hydrocarbons, metals, oil, nutrients and bacteria which may include ammonia, nitrates, nitrites and phosphorus. These other components may have direct or indirect harmful outcomes for humans and ecosystems. As an example, nitrate may cause liver damage, various forms of cancer, methemoglobinemia (oxygen deficiency in an infant's body). Furthermore, excess phosphorus and nitrogen may cause algal blooms and eutrophication in lakes and estuaries.
Stormwater treatment structures are known in the art for removing sediments, trash, organics, nutrients, metals, oils and grease from drain water. However, an amount of sediments, trash, organics, nutrients, metals, oils and grease that are removed vary based on the design of the respective structure. Generally, structures have been developed which focus on a particular contaminant or several contaminants, but not what are recognized as some of the most harmful contaminants, such as nitrates, where a high level of the plurality of contaminants are removed. Thus, builders and users of stormwater filtration systems would benefit from a system and method that removes a high concentration of such contaminants as nitrate while also removing trash, organic matter, human and animal waste, fertilizer, suspended solids, and the like.